Chapter 325: Golden Trait: [Absorb] and [Guidance of a Divine Beast Cub]
In the end, Hikaru didn't expect that the Oddish egg would be handed off so quickly.
After confirming the egg's quality, Kei Hama was very satisfied and immediately bought it for 1.5 million.
Spending that much, he'd definitely raise it well. Hikaru felt like he had honored Vileplume's request.
…
The Next Morning…
November 4th.
A new month, and the start of a new quarter.
That meant not only a [Monthly Trait] but also a [Seasonal Trait].
Each month, this was the moment Hikaru looked forward to the most.
He opened the system, eyes shining at the active Monthly and Seasonal Trait buttons.
As always, he activated them in order—low to high.
He first opened the Daily Trait.
A white flash—
…Let's not talk about it.
Then came the Monthly Trait.
The purple glow eased Hikaru's heart.
As expected, it was once again a Trait Copy.
[Purple Trait (Trait Copy)] — Allows you to copy an existing trait once. If the trait is below purple grade, it will automatically upgrade to purple!
Hikaru felt a spark of excitement growing in his chest.
Another golden trait was within reach.
He combined two purple Trait Copies into one red one.
A red glow flared up.
[Red Trait (Trait Copy)] appeared.
He then brought out [Battle Absorb].
As the two fused—
Red light gave way to brilliant gold.
Hikaru immediately focused on the newly evolved trait.
[Golden Trait (Absorb)] — While equipped, comprehension of any skill or field increases drastically. Pokémon absorb energy cubes at an accelerated rate. During battles, growth rate significantly improves!
The description didn't differ too much from the red version, but it added a few notable effects.
Now, even outside of battle, it would boost comprehension—great for skill mastery.
It also improved absorption rate of energy cubes, which meant training would progress even faster.
Assuming he could keep up the supply of energy cubes, of course.
Still, as a golden trait, it shouldn't disappoint.
After collecting his emotions, Hikaru tapped the [Seasonal Trait].
"Holy sh*t!"
This time, a golden light burst forth again, making Hikaru curse in surprise.
"I thought my luck was bad today. Turns out it's god-tier!"
Rubbing his hands in anticipation, he checked the new trait's details.
[Golden Trait (Guidance of a Divine Beast Cub)] — When activated and used alongside Aura, this will provide a guidance trail to a random Divine Beast cub. After activation, the trait will partially convert into Trait Coins.
"Holy sh*t!?"
The instant he read it, Hikaru's eyes widened, and he stood up involuntarily.
This trait was all too familiar.
Wasn't this how he found Tyranitar (Shakiras) last time?
But this time—it wasn't just any Pokémon—it was a Divine Beast cub!
And considering his Divine Beast Affinity, the capture rate would be through the roof!
Even with all the legendaries and mythical Pokémon he'd seen, Hikaru couldn't help but get excited.
So far, aside from Latias choosing to stay with him, the other divine beasts weren't so easy to recruit.
Like Mew—if it didn't have to guard the Tree of Life, he'd love to have it by his side.
Sure, Mew was flighty and unreliable at times, but hey, it was a mythical Pokémon whose level couldn't even be detected!
That alone provided absolute safety!
After seeing Kyogre, Hikaru was fully aware—
Trying to catch divine beasts with established divine status… that was pure fantasy.
They had lived for hundreds, thousands—even tens of thousands of years.
Why would they let a human capture them?
Eventually calming down, Hikaru forced himself to stay focused.
The divine beast could wait.
The Youth League was coming. That had to take priority.
For the next month, Hikaru wasn't going anywhere.
He would stay at school, training hard.
His plan was to get Charizard, Gardevoir, and Greninja all to Master-tier.
From what he'd seen of the Youth League participants, nearly everyone had the strength of a Master-level Trainer.
And currently, only Latias among his Pokémon had Master-tier strength.
But in the main tournament, each Pokémon could only be deployed twice per match.
Which meant once Latias fought twice, she'd have to sit out.
As for Tyranitar (Shakiras), Hikaru hadn't neglected it.
Each day, it received constitution-building elixirs and the help of the [No More Grinding] trait.
Now it was already level 44!
Hikaru estimated that it wouldn't fully evolve before the prelims—but should be ready soon after.
Maybe right after the preliminaries end, it would evolve!
Bulbasaur and Gible?
Still too early for them to join the Youth League roster.
He'd try to find a smaller competition later so they could gain experience.
Then there was Lucario, currently in the Qinling Mountains.
No way could Lucario miss a major event like this!
Hikaru planned to go visit Lucario at the end of November and see what it had learned regarding advanced aura techniques.
Still, he trusted Lucario deeply.
Among Charizard and Greninja, Lucario was the youngest, yet by far the most mature.
Youth League Schedule:
Preliminaries: December 5–12
Finals: December 15 onward
This gave a few rest days in between.
After checking the schedule, Hikaru outlined his game plan—a full month of closed training!
Now with the golden [Absorb] trait, he could crank out energy cubes and supercharge everyone's growth.
Money wasn't an issue.
As for becoming an official Investigator?
No rush.
Gardevoir just wanted to stay by his side. It didn't matter whether she was visible or not.
He willed himself into the Training Room.
"Everyone, come here!"
All his Pokémon rushed to his side.
As Hikaru looked around, he suddenly blurted, "Huh?"
Charizard, who'd been concealing its aura well, now had a faint ripple around it.
This subtle, yet undeniable fluctuation told him—
Charizard had become a Master-tier Pokémon!
"Roar!"
Charizard let out a proud bellow, spewing flame skyward in celebration.
Its aura surged with newfound strength.
Hikaru nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, not bad…"
Just earlier, he had been thinking about how to grind Charizard up to Master-tier.
Turns out—it already broke through!
Wait… did this have anything to do with [Wishing Heart]?
Opening his [Insight Eye], Hikaru checked Charizard's new profile.
"Huh…?"
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